The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) reports weekly on the methods used by
extremists to exploit the Internet and social media platforms to recruit fol
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Extremist Content Online: Telegram Continues Providing An Open Channel For
Extremists To Spread Violent Propaganda, Hate Speech
(New York, N.Y.) – The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) reports weekly on the
methods used by extremists to exploit the Internet and social media platforms
to recruit followers and incite violence.
Last week, ISIS released a new propaganda video titled “And Strike Their Necks
” on Telegram and subsequently distributed it widely across the RocketChat and
Hoop platforms. In addition, multiple white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups
celebrated the killing of Ahmaud Arbery on Telegram – as well as on 4chan and
8chan successor websites – and urged followers to incite further violence
towards African Americans, with one white supremacist accelerationist Telegram
channel directly encouraging more mass shootings. Also, another white
supremacist accelerationist Telegram channel dedicated to COVID-19 news urged
followers to escalate fear mongering about children being infected with the
virus and praised the suspected forthcoming economic collapse.
Meanwhile, CEP researchers located a nine-image ISIS propaganda photo set on
Instagram uploaded from the group’s self-proclaimed East Asia province in the
Philippines and found two pro-ISIS websites that use Cloudflare services and
the WordPress platform. Additionally, researchers located a video made by
neo-Nazi James Mason, the author ofSiege, in which he characterized Adolf
Hitler as a “savior sent by God” and asserted that the media, government and
society were the true accelerationists, not white supremacists. Finally, a
Finnish Siege-inspired neo-Nazi group, National Socialist Youth (NSY), was
advertised in a Telegram chat.
ISIS Releases New Propaganda Video On Multiple Websites
On Friday, May 15, ISIS released a new video from their self-proclaimed
province in Iraq titled “And Strike Their Necks.” The video, approximately 50
minutes long, showed bombings conducted against Iraqi security forces, combat,
and multiple executions of individuals ISIS claimed worked for the Iraqi
government.
The video was posted on Telegram, and links were spread on RocketChat and
Hoop. The video was posted to at least eight websites: Nextcloud, Ok.Ru,
File.Fm, Mail.Ru, the Internet Archive, Dropbox, Microsoft One Drive, and
Vhx.Tv. Approximately two hours later, the video was still available on six
websites in addition to Telegram: Nextcloud, Ok.Ru, File.Fm, Mail.Ru, the
Internet Archive, and Vhx.Tv.
White Supremacists Celebrate Killing Of Ahmaud Arbery
Multiple white supremacist and neo-Nazi Telegram channels, and users of 4chan
and 8chan successor websites, celebrated the killing of Ahmaud Arbery. Users
posted memes, praised the alleged actions of Travis McMichael and Gregory
McMichael, and encouraged additional violence against African Americans. Major
polarizing news events, especially those involving race, religion, or
ethnicity, present an opportunity for white supremacists to recruit and spread
their message.
White Supremacist Accelerationist Telegram Channel Directly Encourages Mass
Shootings
A white supremacist accelerationist Telegram channel directly encouraged mass
shootings on May 12. The channel posted that the only two acceptable options in
life were living in isolation off the grid, or committing an act of terrorism.
The channel encouraged brutality in order to “win” and used the term “saints,”
which is used to praise white supremacist terrorists such asTimothy McVeigh
<[link removed]>, Anders Breivik
<[link removed]>, and Brenton
Tarrant <[link removed]>. On May
14, the channel had over 3,300 subscribers, and the message had been viewed
over 650 times. The channel has previously encouraged terrorism and other acts
of violence.
White Supremacist Accelerationist Telegram Channel Praises Economic Collapse,
Urges Spreading Fear
On May 14, a white supremacist accelerationist Telegram channel dedicated to
COVID-19 news urged their 3,000 subscribers to spread news about children being
infected with the virus, and praised the prospect of an economic depression.
The channel stated that “Nobody cares that boomers were dying but this new
information about kids dying has enormous potential to fan the flames of social
unrest,” and urged their audience to push an accelerationist agenda. The same
channel also stated the administrator’s hope that economic depression and
hunger would radicalize people to take violent action against Jews and the U.S.
government.
ISIS Propaganda Photo Set Located On Instagram
CEP researchers located an ISIS propaganda photoset on Instagram. The nine
photos, from the group’s self-proclaimed East Asia province in the Philippines,
showed ISIS fighters praying, eating, and engaging in patrols. The photoset had
been on the platform for approximately 24 hours when it was located, and had
over 110 likes. The account that uploaded the photoset has previously uploaded
sections from ISIS propaganda videos in April and early May.
ISIS Propaganda photoset on Instagram, May 14
Two Pro-ISIS Websites Located
CEP researchers located two pro-ISIS websites the week of May 9 to May 15, one
which uses Cloudflare services, and the other on the WordPress platform. The
WordPress site contains ISIS’s weekly al-Naba newsletter, and was created in
April.
The second website, on the .info domain, has previously been removed from the
.xyz
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,.win
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,.in
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, and.ru
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domains. The website contains violent ISIS propaganda videos, weekly
newsletters, and daily Amaq News updates. Videos on the website include recent
ISIS releases, as well as notorious execution videos. The website, like it’s
previous incarnations, uses Cloudflare services. While the domain suffix has
changed, the name of the website has not.
Neo-Nazi James Mason Releases New Video
CEP researchers located a video made by neo-Nazi James Mason
<[link removed]>, the author of Siege
<[link removed]>, in
which he stated that the media, government, and society are the true
accelerationists, and not white supremacists. Mason stated that whites have
been chosen by God, and that modern government, society, and culture, are
anti-white, and that the U.S. is following the path of ancient empires that
lead them to failure. Mason also stated that Adolf Hitler was a savior sent by
God and lamented on the takedowns of white supremacist websites. Mason
predicted that regardless of any action, the system will collapse. In an
attempt to offer practical advice, Mason warned his audience to beware of agent
provocateurs and not to do anything illegal, but offered the caveat that if
anyone were to commit an illegal act, that they should do it alone and in
secrecy. The video was uploaded to a “free speech” streaming platform located
in the United Kingdom.
Mason claimed
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that he opposed unlawful activities in a September 2019 podcast, contradicting
his previous support for violence.Siege calls for violence against the U.S.
government, and racial and religious groups, and has helped inspire the
Atomwaffen Division
<[link removed]> (AWD) and The
Base <[link removed]>. In an affidavit in
support of a criminal complaint for former AWD leaderJohn Cameron Denton
<[link removed]>, the U.S.
governmentalleged
<[link removed]> that
Mason previously communicated with AWD members and offered them “encouragement
in pursuing neo-Nazi activities and views.”
Finnish Siege Inspired Neo-Nazi Group Located
A new Finnish neo-Nazi group “National Socialist Youth,” (NSY) inspired by the
bookSiege
<[link removed]> was
advertised in a Telegram chat on May 12. The group stated that they are looking
to recruit members between the ages of 13 and 25 and that they are currently
focused on networking and “activism”. Photos on the group’s website show the
distribution of flyers, stickers, and a banner drop. Essays on the website
claim the existence of a genocide against white people, anti-Semitic conspiracy
theories, and content taken from theNordic Resistance Movement
<[link removed]>. The
group’s suggested reading list includesSiege, The Turner Diaries
<[link removed]>,
Brenton Tarrant’s <[link removed]>
manifesto, works from the Iron March forum, and a pamphlet fromCombat 18
<[link removed]>. NSY’s website uses the
Icelandic/Finnish/Romanan/Seychelles company Flokinet as its name server, and
Hostinger as its registrar.
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